That One Day
by angelofdarkness78
Summary: Inspired by "Haunted". It's a year later, and Topher's birthday. With none of the Dolls available for imprint, who does he spend it with? Claire/Topher


Disclaimer: I do not own Dollhouse, or any of its original plot or characters. They all belong to the master, Joss Whedon.

A/N: This was inspired from last night's episode "Haunted". I found the interaction with Sierra and Topher incredibly heartwarming, and so this takes place a year later. I hope you enjoy it!

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Another year had passed and Topher found that April 24th had crept up on him and somehow rolled around without him being conscious of it. But the day was here, and for once, he was spending it alone. He had asked Boyd if he could have an Active for one of his "diagnostic tests", just as he had the year before with Sierra, but this time none of the dolls were free to be programmed. Several were out on a group engagement, as the client – who had lost his family in a car accident years before and lacked many friends – requested some of the dolls to attend his wedding as members of his family and old friends from school. Others were on solo engagements, and the few that remained at the Dollhouse needed to remain in their blank state in case any clients decided that this was the week in which they needed to realize their fantasies. Boyd had tentatively offered Zulu for his test, but even Topher had to draw the line at that. Zulu, even when correctly imprinted, was kind of creepy. Bald, covered in tattoos, and a good 40 pounds overweight, he was usually sent out on jobs as bodyguards or something of that nature. Still, when imprinted, there was a part of his original personality that sometimes emerged and was off-putting – a bit like how Caroline's personality had sometimes surfaced when Echo was imprinted.

So here he was, sitting alone in his chair, spending his birthday with his computer. He had tried shrugging it off at first, playing World of Warcraft for a few hours, getting bored and then playing computer solitaire. He stopped that after he had beaten it 20 times, shutting the computer off and resolving to stare at an interestingly-shaped speck of dirt on the wall. He briefly considered asking one of the staff to hang out with him, and then laughed at the thought. Adelle would look at him in that piercing British way of hers, eyebrow raised. The handlers were no fun. Ivy was on her day off. And he doubted Boyd, Mr. Head of Security, was going to want to eat junk food and play Battleship with him.

He was a certified genius, could play God with people's lives, and here he was, having never felt more alone.

"Topher?"

He swiveled around in his chair and was surprised to see Claire Saunders standing there in his doorway.

"Uh huh?"

"I just did Oscar's physical. Other than a few scrapes, he's fine. Ms. Dewitt wants him imprinted this afternoon."

"Yeah, fine. Whatever." He swiveled back around, moody and for once not wanting to talk to anyone. No questions, no jokes about how the last time Oscar was sent out in the field the client had turned out to want him to be _more_ than a friend.

"Also, I wanted to give you this." She stepped forward hesitantly into the office, the hand she had held behind her back moving towards him and offering a small cupcake with a single candle stuck off-center. His eyes widened.

"You – I mean you – I mean wow – you –" He was rambling excitedly like a small child, his arms moving wildly in the air. Finally, he dropped his hands. "Thanks. How'd you know it was my birthday?"

Her lips quirked to the side. "Having no lights on in here and sulking around were pretty good indicators. I took a guess as to why."

He pointed at her. "Good one, Saunders."

She deposited the cupcake on the computer desk and started to leave. Topher sprang up from his chair and stood awkwardly, one hand on his hip.

"Wait – so, so you're going now?"

She nodded as if that should be obvious. "I have work to do, Topher. Happy birthday."

"But –" He stumbled forward. "Uh… don't you ever get bored doing work all day?" He scratched his head. "I mean, okay, so you might enjoy checking out all the guys when they come to you, but uh, don't you ever take a break?"

She frowned, but made no motion to leave. "What do you want?"

He rocked on the backs of his heels. "Oh… I don't know." His eyes lit up. "We could have a paintball fight."

A small laugh escaped her lips at that. "I don't think so."

He shook his hands at her. "Okay, okay, okay. No paintball. How 'bout Wii boxing? Xbox? DDR?"

She rolled her eyes. "I am not going to play DDR with you, Topher." Seeing his crestfallen look, she considered the board games piled high on the side table. "I might have some time for Scrabble."

He flashed her a grin.

"Dirty Scrabble?"

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A/N: Hope you all enjoyed. Any sort of feedback is appreciated!


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